“Don’t write in clichés!” This is something every writer has heard at least once. Clichés are lazy writing. They are boring but they are also familiar.  I admit, I’ve used clichés, especially in my early writing (first drafts). I write quickly ‘off the top of my head’ and use clichés for easy place holders. Sometimes, they make it past the first couple of edits but is using clichés all that bad? I mean, they are clichés for a reason, they are everyday language. ‘Since I was knee high to a grasshopper,’ I remember hearing clichés and idioms that gave a little flavor to a story. In honor or in spite of all those editors who say NO MORE Clichés, let’s play a game. How many clichés can you use to tell a brief story?

Many hands make light work but too many cooks spoil the broth. So how many do you need to get the job done? Two heads are better than one unless you have two left feet, then you just go around in circles. I think I’ve painted myself into a corner, I’m beginning to believe I don’t know my head from a hole in the ground. What do you think? Should I just go home with my tail between my legs or do I even have a leg to stand on?

Okay, your turn!